Online legal service LegalZoom has designed a “one-stop-shop” for the legal needs of small businesses and individuals. LegalZoom has a long list of services but primarily focuses on creating legal documents without having to hire a lawyer.
While the concept of forming legally binding documents without the excessive lawyer fees sounds excellent and all, you might be wondering, is LegalZoom legit?
Take a look at our comprehensive 2023 LegalZoom review to find out.
Who Is LegalZoom?
LegalZoom began in 2001 by providing ten web-based legal service products, primarily focusing on business formation, estate planning, and intellectual property protection. Since its inception, it has assisted over four million businesses and individuals and has been recognized multiple times for its innovation, including by Business Insider and Fast Company.
In 2010, LegalZoom expanded its services to include an independent attorney network, which allowed users to gain a more personalized form of legal advice based upon their specific needs.
Shortly after, LegalZoom began partnering with legal providers throughout the United Kingdom to expand their consumers’ access. In 2016, LegalZoom acquired Beaumont Legal, a 200-year-old award-winning law firm in Yorkshire.
Today, LegalZoom continues to expand and is currently ranked in the top 5 online legal services for small businesses by the Chamber of Commerce.
LegalZoom: Services
LegalZoom offers a wide range of legal services and products, including access to its extensive library of legal documents and forms. The services assist business owners, and individuals navigate through some of the tricky legal challenges and include:
- Start a business
- File business formation paperwork
- Create custom legal documents with e-signature
- Register a trademark
- Apply for a patent or copyright protection
- Consult with a lawyer
- Get legal documents reviewed by a lawyer
- Get business tax advice
- File for Divorce (See our comparison of LegalZoom vs. Rocket Lawyer for DIY divorce)
- Create a will, trust or estate plan
Avoid excessive lawyer fees in the drafting of simple legal documents through LegalZoom services. Or, for a more hands-on approach to your legal needs, you can sign up for a membership that grants you direct access to legal consultations with a practicing lawyer in your state.
LegalZoom: Pros
While LegalZoom provides an extensive list of services to its users, all of which tending to be significantly less expensive than hiring a lawyer to do the same, there are additional features of LegalZoom that make it an excellent option.
Established Company
LegalZoom is known for being one of the first online legal service providing companies out there. The company has been around for twenty years and continues to grow in both size and stature as one of the industry’s pioneers.
The reputable company has received numerous awards from business leading organizations. As previously mentioned, the Chamber of Commerce has ranked LegalZoom in the top five online legal services for small businesses.
Affordable Pricing
LegalZoom offers a wide range of online legal services starting as low as $79. Here is a brief overview of the costs associated with some of the more popular services:
| Services | Starting Cost |
| Business formation | $79 (plus government filing fees) |
| Registered agent service | $159 per year |
| Legal forms (single form) | $14.95 $7.99 per month (or included with Business Advisory Plan) |
| Business Advisory Plan | $31.25 per month (1-year plan) $36 per month (6-month plan) |
| Trademark registration | $199 (plus federal filing fees) |
| Copyright application | $114 (plus federal filing fees) |
| Last will and testament | $89 |
60-Day Satisfaction Guarantee
While it is not entirely uncommon to find satisfaction guarantee offers within the online legal service industry, LegalZoom is known for having one of the longest at 60-days. That means you can leverage your 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee anytime within 60 days.
Additionally, if you opt for any of their membership options, you can also cancel anytime and receive a prorated refund.
Experienced Attorneys
To join the legal team of LegalZoom, lawyers must meet specific eligibility requirements to adhere to the company’s high level of standards. LegalZoom requires a minimum of five years of practicing legal experience, good standing, and no public discipline records within the state they are licensed to ensure quality legal advice.
Business Advisory Plan
LegalZoom offers a comprehensive business legal plan at an incredibly affordable rate, starting at $31.25 per month.
Within the Business Advisory Plan offered by LegalZoom includes:
- New legal concerns get a 30-minute independent attorney consultation
- Contract or any other document review (10 pages per year)
- Business evaluation completed annually
- Download access from the legal form library
- Additional discounts on other offerings
While most of these features are seemingly industry standard, the business evaluation and copyright registration per month are rare but excellent for freelancers and businesses.
The Business Advisory Plan is an exceptional offer for the services provided and comes highly recommended for small businesses in need of occasional legal assistance.
Customer Reviews
The majority of customer reviews you will find online regarding LegalZoom are positive. You can look further at the Better Business Bureau and see all of the latest reviews for LegalZoom are all five stars and have highly positive remarks about the company.
LegalZoom: Cons
Although there are a lot of positive things to say about LegalZoom and the offerings it provides, it wouldn’t be a comprehensive review without analyzing some of the areas in which it potentially falls short.
Spotty Customer Service
LegalZoom has customer care available by phone seven days a week, including beyond regular business hours. The customer care agents are based out of the United States and have accessible hours that include:
- Monday through Friday: 5 am to 7 pm PST
- Saturday and Sunday: 7 am to 4 pm PST
Reviews online claim that customer service quality can be spotty at times due to high call volumes. Still, you can also submit a question online anytime and reference the extensive FAQ from the website.
Some Services Can Be Pricey
Basic service prices are in the chart above, but keep in mind that although these prices are reasonable, they do not include any additional add-ons. For example, if you require expedited filing because of time-sensitive reasons, you can expect additional costs of up to $220 per service.
There are also additional charges beyond the scope of the Business Advisory Plan. For example, if you need a lawyer to review documents that exceed the allotted ten pages, this charge can run you anywhere from $39 to $99 extra.
Similarly, if you need more than the allotted 30-minute phone consultation with a lawyer, you will be charged at that attorney’s independent rate. Luckily, as a LegalZoom customer, you are entitled to 25% off their standard hourly rate, which can help cut costs in the long run.
Although additional services can come at higher costs, it’s nice to know that LegalZoom details their website’s pricing. You never have any debts about what you are paying for and what you can anticipate in terms of services in return. Also, with a satisfaction guarantee, you can rest assured you will receive quality service every time and receive compensation rightfully if not.
Conclusion
LegalZoom is one of the oldest and best known out of the many online legal service providers out there. LegalZoom can assist you our your business through an extensive list of services, including legal consultation directly from a lawyer.
We highly recommend LegalZoom.com for a wide range of legal services. Visit the LegalZoom.com to get the legal help you need today!
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Emily is a professionally trained freelance writer who covers a wide range of topics but specializes in business, law and hospitality content. With over a decade of professional writing experience in the hospitality industry, Emily comes from a strong background in the field backed with a BS from the world-renowned William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at UNLV. When she is not spending her time freelance writing, Emily enjoys growing her social media skills and spending time with her rescue puppy. Find out more about Emily’s extensive background or reach out directly at www.linkedin.com/in/Emily-Kho.
